The Bank of Canada's spring business outlook is a much sunnier picture than a similar snapshot taken in the winter.
The Business Outlook Survey shows Canadian businesses are more optimistic than when the bank's regional offices surveyed them the previous season.
Firms reported improved sales growth over the past 12 months. The survey also found that, overall, expectation of higher sales growth over the next 12 months was more widespread than in the winter outlook. Many businesses reported investment spending is focused on reducing costs and raising productivity.
"With modestly improved expectations for near-term U.S. economic growth and fewer concerns about the global economic and financial situation, some of the dampening effects on sales expectations have subsided," states the report.
"More firms report that recent indicators of future sales activity, such as order books and new contracts, have improved compared with a year ago.
"The strength of commodity prices and the resulting spillover effects on domestic activity, along with some firms' efforts to reposition themselves to gain market share in highly competitive markets, are also supporting expectations for higher sales growth over the next 12 months."
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